So I'm out to the Masons!

[pamela7]

I'm not a mason, but one of my oldest and closest friends is, and we're going to their annual Burns Night dinner in a couple of weekends, so it was time for "the transitoning talk". He's taken it well, he accepts me as I am. He's worried the lodge master might not be quite so accepting, but he did agree to me wearing a ladies kilt and jacket to the event - as opposed to the long dress i'd have preferred to wear.

The upside is i always wanted a nice ladies kilt, the downside is its a bit of a public compromise, made in good faith to avoid my friend's embarrassment this time round. He knows future events will be me in an long black dress though, and is okay with that if he's running the event.

The bigger upside is that i've not lost a friend over the transitioning talk, and he's happy for me to be dressed with his wider family and circle of friends. There will be a fair number of former professional work colleagues present, so it's fair to say I'll be outed in that community as of then.

The big debate at home now is whether to wear 3" heels.

Now to the emotional side; this is the first time i've felt nervous about telling someone, because his friendship means a lot to me. I'm relieved and know I have someone local to count on as this year unfolds. Facing all those old engineering faces is going to be a challenge, but I'm up to it, it's a kind of Rubicon for me, really.

Pamela

[Robin414]

Wow Pamela, I'm not a Mason either but wow, I 'feel' it! I'd say 'Good Luck' but that kinda sounds like you need 'luck' which I don't think you do...Wishing you..
Good Confidence...that's it! ☺

[Vikky]

Hi Pamela

Great step forward and good luck with it. No doubt you will report back on how it all goes. I am not a mason, but am in a similar organisation and wonder how my pals there would react if I were to turn up at one of our events en femme. Sadly its not likely to happen.

Vikky

[pamela7]

there's more ...

So today my stepchild who's been living as a male for 8 years (F2M TS) - now 19 yrs old - has declared he wants to physically transition, beginning with hormones. It's come up because of my reveal, though it's been brewing a long time; we had asked him to wait to be sure he would not want children first. So now there are two of us going in opposite directions physically this year, in one house. Oh, and my brother called to say he's got an aggressive cancer with surgery in 3 weeks time. "It never rains but it pours."

all in the day of a life of.

[Laura912]

May you have the strength to cope with it all...best to you.

[pamela7]

So i did it, my SO and I went to the event. I met my old colleagues, and they were completely accepting, asking simple factual questions, in fact there are men there who would love to lose their beards too (and in other places) - they were very interested in the electrolysis and laser: this is straight folk, right, and old ones, too (60+ years).

There was a bit of pin-drop silence as we entered though, and then we were largely ignored by the mainstream folk but had lots of lovely chats with people we do know. My friend's wife was onside also, so all in all, no drama and "this is normal, this is me".

[JanePeterson]

Congratulations!!! Such a great story... Amazing how much people can surprise you given the chance

[Suzanne F]

Pamela,
I truly believe we are helping by showing up for life as ourselves. I am sure there were people there that were affected by your courage.
Suzanne

[Dana44]

Pamela, That is great and it looks like you are being accepted. Wow at a Mason's event. yep good contacts there and yes you will be outed but hey who cares now.

[pinklilly211]

Well, I am a Mason, A past master at that. All I can say is WOW!! I could never even think of trying something like this. I give you great accolades!!!
Lilly

[PretzelGirl]

I firmly believe that when you own who you are and keep your chin up and look everyone in the eye, you achieve the best possible results. It isn't necessarily easy, but it makes the best of the situation. Glad it went well for you!